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Map Shows Where in U.S. to Beware of Lyme Disease
Posted 9 days ago by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Feb. 3 – Areas in the United States where people have the highest risk of contracting Lyme disease are pinpointed in a new map created by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Lyme disease is one of the most rapidly emerging infectious diseases in North America. It's transferred by ticks and symptoms range from headaches, fever and a rash to arthritis and Bell's palsy, or damage to a facial nerve that can lead to temporary paralysis of the muscles on one side of the face. The map shows that high infection risk is confined mainly to the Northeast and upper Midwest. There is a low risk in the South. The map shows a clear risk of Lyme disease in large parts of the Northeast (including eastern Pennsylvania) from Maine going as far south as Maryland and northern Virginia. The high risk area in the upper Midwest includes most of Wisconsin, a large part of northern ... Read more
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Tracking Lyme Disease in Dogs May Help Protect Humans
Posted 10 Aug 2011 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 10 – Tracking Lyme disease infections in dogs may help scientists predict possible outbreaks of the tick-borne illness in humans, government researchers report. Since dogs are also susceptible to Lyme disease, they can be a good indicator of the risk of human infection, the scientists from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. When blood tests show that few dogs in a given area carry the bacteria, the risk to people is relatively low, they noted. Conversely, when more dogs test positive for Lyme, people may be at increased risk, they noted. "Public health authorities could use this to assess and evaluate changes in their region," said Dr. Gary P. Wormser, chief of infectious diseases at New York Medical College and Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla. "This could be of help in understanding the risk areas for humans." The report, released Aug. 10, ... Read more
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New Tick-Borne Illness Infects Midwesterners
Posted 3 Aug 2011 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 3 – First they spread Lyme disease, and then babesiosis. Now, deer ticks carrying a newly identified bacterium are infecting residents of the midwestern United States with a disease called ehrlichiosis, and experts say it will likely appear in other areas of the country. The still unnamed bacterium, which causes fever, body aches and fatigue, has been identified in 25 people in Minnesota and Wisconsin, but has probably infected many more, researchers said in a new study. "So far we have tested thousands of patients from around the United States, and we have only found it in the blood of patients from Wisconsin and Minnesota," said lead researcher Dr. Bobbi Pritt, director of the Clinical Parasitology and Virology Laboratories at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "We have also found it in ticks. Specifically, in the ticks called Ixodes scapularis, also known as the ... Read more
Related support groups: Lyme Disease, Ehrlichiosis, Babesiosis
Spinal Fluid May Hold Clues to Lyme Disease, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Posted 24 Feb 2011 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Feb. 24 – An analysis of proteins in spinal fluid can help distinguish patients with Lyme disease from those with chronic fatigue syndrome, a new study reports. It also appears that both diseases, which can cause similar symptoms, involve the central nervous system and that protein abnormalities in the central nervous system are causes and/or effects of both conditions, said the research team, which was led by Dr. Steven E. Schutzer, of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – New Jersey Medical School, and Richard D. Smith, of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. In the study, the investigators analyzed spinal fluid from 43 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), 25 people who had been diagnosed with and treated for Lyme disease, but did not completely recover (neurologic post-treatment Lyme disease, or nPTLS), and 11 healthy people. The researchers ... Read more
Related support groups: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), Lyme Disease
Scientists Identify Molecular Blueprint for Lyme Disease
Posted 12 Oct 2010 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Oct. 12 – Scientists have determined the genetic structures of 13 strains of the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, an achievement that could speed efforts to diagnose, prevent and treat the disease. The occurrence of Lyme disease – which can harm the nervous system, heart, skin and joints – has grown dramatically over the past 10 years in the United States and Europe. The disease is transmitted through the bite of an infected tick. "A driving force for doing this project was the observation that certain forms of the bacteria can be more invasive than others. We wanted to find out why and how to identify this properly," Dr. Steven E. Schutzer, of the University of Medicine and Dentistry New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School (UMDNJ), said in a UMDNJ news release. Even though the cause of Lyme disease has been known for 27 years, there still is no vaccine for humans. "The field ... Read more
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Review Panel Leaves Controversial Lyme Disease Guidelines Unchanged
Posted 22 Apr 2010 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, April 22 – After more than a year of study, a specially appointed panel at the Infectious Diseases Society of America has decided that controversial guidelines for the treatment of Lyme disease are correct and need not be changed. The guidelines, first adopted in 2006, have long advocated for the short-term (less than a month) antibiotic treatment of new infections of Lyme disease, which is caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, a bacteria transmitted to humans via tick bites. However, the guidelines have also been the focus of fierce opposition from certain patient advocate groups that believe there is a debilitating, "chronic" form of Lyme disease requiring much longer therapy. The IDSA guidelines are important because doctors and insurance companies often follow them when making treatment (and treatment reimbursement) decisions. The new review was sparked by an investigation ... Read more
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Genetic Engineering Raises Hope for Lyme Disease Vaccine
Posted 5 Apr 2010 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, April 5 – In an effort to combat Lyme disease, researchers have found that tick-borne transmission might be preventable by deactivating a key gene in the bacteria that enables infection. Though to date the strategy has been tested solely in mice, theoretically the discovery could lead toward development of a vaccine that reduces the risk for infection. "Certain genes are activated by the bacteria that causes Lyme disease during tick feeding, and for the first time we found the one that is absolutely necessary to transmit infection," said the study's lead author, Robert D. Gilmore Jr., a research microbiologist and head of the molecular and cellular microbiology lab in the bacterial diseases branch at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Fort Collins, Colo. Their findings are published in the April 5-9 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy ... Read more
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Watch Out for Lyme Disease
Posted 29 Mar 2010 by Drugs.com
SUNDAY, March 28 – Before heading out to enjoy the warm weather, guard yourself against tick-borne Lyme disease, experts advise. "The main issues with Lyme disease are the time of year [most tick bites occur from April to October], if you live or frequent an area where ticks are prevalent [woods or areas with tall grass populated by deer or other wild animals], and if you remove a tick, to watch out for symptoms, although more than half of patients with Lyme disease did not see the tick," Dr. Jose Munoz, chief of infectious diseases at Children's and Women's Physicians of Westchester in Valhalla, N.Y., said in a news release. Prevention measures include avoiding tick-infested areas, wearing protective clothing, using tick repellents (up to 10 percent DEET), and checking your body for ticks. The earliest sign of Lyme disease is a rash, but it doesn't always occur. "There can be the ... Read more
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